Removing smell/odor fromcooler mashtun.

[msa8967]

Loaned out my mashtun to a buddy and just got dropped off back to me this weekend. Upon looking inside the cooler I found that my former buddy never cleaned it the inside properly and just dumped the grain. Now the cooler has a very strong odor that I cannot seem to get rid of by scrubbing with hot soap and water. I also tried using baking soda. I have been thinking about using bleach but I wanted ask for other opinions first. Any ideas or suggestions(other than asking for a replacement cooler)?

 

[andrewmaixner]

PBW, oxyclean free, bleach... Rinse well after.

 

[scottballz]

Fill it up with 170 degree water and PBW. close up the cooler so it stays at a nice warm temp and let it sit for a few hours. it should do the trick.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

Loaned out my mashtun to a buddy and just got dropped off back to me this weekend. Upon looking inside the cooler I found that my former buddy never cleaned it the inside properly and just dumped the grain. Now the cooler has a very strong odor that I cannot seem to get rid of by scrubbing with hot soap and water. I also tried using baking soda. I have been thinking about using bleach but I wanted ask for other opinions first. Any ideas or suggestions(other than asking for a replacement cooler)?

If it were summer, I would say leave it open and in the sun for a couple of days.

If everything the others mentioned does not work, use a proper dilution of bleach, soak the cooler with the lid closed for a few hours. Higher concentrations are not better.

 

[TheBrewingBear]

I would avoid bleach anywhere near metal fittings since it can corrode metal.

Hot PBW soak gets my vote. Fire up your HLT to get it to strike temps. Be sure to let some cleaner into the valve to dissolve deposits in the fittings. Use a soft sponge or a paper towel to wipe. Residual smells will fade with time. You may have to take apart the fittings to clean them really well.

You may also want to stop using the term "buddy" and begin using the term "that ******* who tried to ruin my mash tun". Maybe send him a bill?

 

[msa8967]

I took out all of the metal components and replaced them with the original plastic plug. I have this in a oxyclean soak and this fails I will try pbw. It is a bit frustrating since this is a 15 gallon drink cooler. Kind of a rare find so replacing it won't be easy to do. Thanks for the input everyone.

I am not sure of the bleach concentration I should use or the temp of the water. Any ideas?

 

[Onkel_Udo]

I am not sure of the bleach concentration I should use or the temp of the water. Any ideas?

"The proper dilution of chlorine bleach for sanitizing food preparation surfaces is 200ppm or 1 TBSP per gallon of warm water."

Despite what most believe, all but the lowest chromium and nickel content SS will be fine with 1-2 hour soak in that dilution. The dairy industry did it for years before they moved to steam as their primary disinfecting agent.

 

[msa8967]

I tried just doing this soak with hot tap water/oxyclean and had some success. So now I heated up 11 gallons to 170 F and committed several oz of pbw to this second effort. I may just let this go overnight and rinse in 24 hours. Then I might need go with very low concentration bleach soak.